The further Spook delved deeper into the cavern, the more confident he was of his guess. The signs were everywhere. Dried splatters of blood sprayed across the walls, tufts of mane fur left lying around, and the smell of the offals. That was the worst. It was times like these that Spook wished he couldn’t smell as a skeleton. Every one of his senses seemed to work except for his pain sensitivity and his ability to not breathe.

“Whatever is eating these lizards sure likes its intestines,” muttered Shade as she prodded the carcass of a particularly mutilated lizard. “It’s like this monster is aiming specifically for the innards.”

“It’s the best part,” replied Spook, his eyes scanning across the room they had just stumbled into. Or rather, the slaughterhouse. “The most nutritious part lies in the guts and brain. Just like how bears will specifically eat salmon eggs and leave the rest of the body. It’s a primal instinct for beasts. Though judging by the size of these claw marks, I’m not sure we can call it a beast. Look at this.”

Spook beckoned to Shade, and then to the five gouges drawn across the stone wall. The imprints were at least two inches thick and were the length of Spook’s hand. No regular Mane Lizard had the strength to do this. This was the work of an Alpha Mane Lizard. A dungeon boss.

[Gouge Marks Examined

Lifeskill: has been developed since you examined a special monster’s tracks.]

Increasing will improve your understanding of the world and can lead you to discover secrets and treasures hidden to the common eye.]

What’s this? A new Lifeskill? It seems to mesh well with since it intersects with treasure hunting. It’s sort like tracking, but I guess for special markings? I’ll have to keep using it to find out. There should be plenty of more tracks up ahead to examine.

“If you get mauled by one of these claws, I’m not sure you’d be able to survive,” murmured Shade thoughtfully. Spook felt her dark eyes settle on his face out of the corner of his vision.

“So what’s the plan, Master Spook? Are we going to track this thing down and kill it?”

“Hell yeah, we are! What’s the point of playing if you don’t challenge yourself? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I bet if we take down the Alpha, we’ll get crazy rewards,” replied Spook.

He knew that the Alpha Mane Lizard was very capable of sending him to his first death, but the risk versus reward was too good to pass up on. Who knew what kind of valuable drops he could get? Maybe there was potentially another Scaling Ingredient waiting for him.

“I appreciate the confidence and all, but how are you going to defeat the Alpha? Isn’t this monster supposed to be the strongest of them all? Do you see these marks? A single swipe would decapitate your head!” exclaimed Shade. Spook could see the genie’s smoke turbulently churning, indicating her nervousness.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Spook stepped away from the gouge marks and proceeded to walk further into the cavern. Shade followed closely behind, a little more on edge this time around. So far, the pair hadn’t seen a single living Mane Lizard. To be completely honest, it felt quite strange to walk through empty dens. At least there was a trail of dead bodies to follow.

“Relax, relax. What’s the worst that could happen to us?” snorted Spook, carefully stepping over a decapitated head.

“I don’t know? Maybe dying?!” hissed Shade sarcastically as she glared at the strewn corpses around her. “I know I’m a genie, but that doesn’t mean we like to die!”

“It’ll be fine. Trust me.”

The pair continued on in silence, not wanting to cause any loud noises. Being able to hear was essential in the current situation, and one wrong move could set the Alpha on top of them. The stench of bodies was getting heavier and heavier with each step they took. They were getting closer to the boss.

As they pressed on, Spook ran through numerous simulations in his head.

Shade didn’t know this, but Spook had seen the Alpha before. In streams. Spook greatly enjoyed watching people PvM in Inside Online, so he spent a great deal of time watching people who excelled at fighting monsters. Over time, Spook had been exposed to numerous types of special bosses and learned how to deal with them effectively. Except for this time, he wouldn’t be behind a computer screen. He would be the one fighting.

The Alpha Mane Lizard’s two main characteristics are it’s increased physical capabilities, and it’s ability to use skills. Typically, regular mobs aren’t able to use skills, but higher-tiered monsters such as dungeon bosses possess offensive and defensive spells. The stronger it is, the more spells it can cast. A monster like the Alpha Mane Lizard should be able to use one of each. Realistically speaking, its a coin toss. The fight will bowl down to who gets the first hit in first. I can use Shade to tank damage, but she won’t be too useful in the fight since she already does reduced damage. I’ll have to plan my attack accordingly.

“Hey, Spook, are we getting closer?” Shade’s whisper startled him out of his thoughts.

“I mean, I don’t know. I’m just following the trail of bodies and the stench of blood. Look, this one here looks like it was just eaten,” said Spook, prodding at a fresh corpse with a boot.

“I don’t get it. Why does it keep killing everything it comes across? Surely it’s not hungry anymore?” wondered Shade, a frown furrowing at her brow.

Spook grimaced. Shade was right. The Alpha had long satiated its appetite. There was no reason for it to keep killing, except for pure sport, and to establish dominance. A twinge of worry nudged at him. There was no logic to the behavior of this Alpha. According to what he knew, the Alpha’s would eat its fill and return to its nest to rule over the remaining survivors. But what was there to rule over if everything was dead? It didn’t make any sense. Suddenly, a dreading suspicion crept over him as he saw Shade run ahead of him to a familiar-looking room.

Surely it can’t be . . .

“Spook! Look here!” Shade was pointing to something on the ground. He caught up with her and followed her finger. His eyes widened through the slits of his helmet as he observed the destruction lying before him.

Where the stairs to the flame golems should have been was a massive hole tunneling straight down. The doorway for the Alpha had been too small, resulting in the demolition of the entrance. It was no wonder he couldn’t recognize the area at first glance.

He turned to look at Shade. His companion seemed to be equally as shocked as he was. Her eyes read his.

“What’s the issue now?” she asked reluctantly.

The words felt heavy on his tongue as he spoke slowly.

“Shade, I think we’ve encountered a rogue-class Alpha.”